Fimmvörðuháls KIT

The sweater and its cardigan version, with the colors of ashes, is named after Fimmvörðuháls, a mountain pass in Iceland at the site of the now-famous eruption of glacier Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. Hélène Magnusson knitted the sweater while walking this pass, in one of her Knitting Treks in the summer of 2011. It is typical of an Icelandic lopi yoke sweater, but also seek inspiration in the Old costume jackets (close-fitted shaping and unusual elbow shaping) and the Icelandic lace shawl tradition: the colorwork in the yoke is faked with a typical undulating lace pattern and the crocheted chain bind-off adds a feminine touch.

“The sweater is named after Fimmvörðuháls, a mountain pass in Iceland, at the site of the now famous eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. I knitted the sweater in the summer 2011 while walking during one of my knitting treks in Iceland: the Hiking and Knitting Tour between Fire and Ice (see pictures). The trail goes through the pass, between the two glaciers, and over the two new craters and the recently formed lava. I knitted while walking, just like in the Old days when no time could be lost and Icelandic men and women where knitting when going from one farm to another or, especially the men, when working around in the fields. I hold the skein under my armpit. I missed the white skein into the black ashes a few times, making a point for all the knitters in the tour that Icelandic wool is indeed hardwearing and dirt repellent! The sweater is typically an Icelandic lopi yoke sweater: the tradition is quite new – reaching its peak in the 70’s – but the sweater also seeks inspiration in older Icelandic knitting traditions: the close fitted shaping and the unusual elbow shaping can be found in Old Icelandic knitted jackets. The colorwork in the yoke is faked with an undulating lace pattern, typical of Icelandic shawls. The crocheted chain bind off, also very common in the Old shawls, ads a feminine touch. The colors remind me of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier and the dirty ice covered with ashes. ”

The pattern was first published in the book Knitting sweaters from around the world: 18 sweaters in a variety of styles and techniques, Voyageurs Press (2012).

The designer

Hélène Magnússon is a leading knit designer in Iceland, the author of many books about traditional Icelandic knitting and the editor of The Icelandic Knitter. She likes to put a new spin on Icelandic traditions. She began her professional life as a lawyer in Paris before she made a complete life change and moved to Iceland, where she studied textile and fashion at Iceland Academy of the Arts and worked as a hired girl in a sheep farm and a mountain guide. The varied skills she learned in those early years richly inform the amazing hiking and knitting tours she passionately guides in collaboration with tour operator Icelandic Mountain Guides.